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Caligula's father,
Germanicus, the nephew and
adopted son of emperor
Tiberius, was a very successful general
and one of Rome's most beloved public figures. The young Gaius earned
his nickname Caligula (the diminutive form of caliga) meaning
"little [soldier's] boot", while accompanying his father on military
campaigns in
Germania. When Germanicus died in
Antioch in AD 19, his mother
Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome
with her six children, where she became entangled in an increasingly
bitter feud with Tiberius. This conflict eventually led to the
destruction of her family, with Caligula as the sole male survivor.
Unscathed by the deadly intrigues, and seemingly unmoved by the fate of
his closest relatives, Caligula accepted the invitation to join the
emperor on the island of
Capri in AD 31, where Tiberius himself
had withdrawn in AD 26. At the death of Tiberius, on 16 March AD 37,
Caligula succeeded his great-uncle and adoptive grandfather.

There are few surviving sources on Caligula's reign, although he is
described as a noble and moderate ruler during the first two years of
his rule. After this, the sources focus upon his cruelty, extravagance,
and sexual perversity, presenting him as an insane
tyrant, leading many to believe he had
neurosyphylis. While the reliability of
these sources has been difficult to assess, what is known is that during
his brief reign, Caligula worked to increase the authority of the
princeps, possibly contemplating the
introduction of an authoritarian system of an eastern type. He directed
much of his attention to ambitious construction projects, notoriously
luxurious dwellings for himself, but also two new aqueducts for the city
of Rome (Aqua
Claudia and
Anio Novus). However, these are
primarily associated with his successor Claudius, who brought these
projects to completion. Caligula also annexed
Mauretania.

On 24 January AD 41, Caligula was assassinated as the result of a
conspiracy involving officers of the
Praetorian Guard as well as members of
the
Roman Senate and of the imperial court.
The conspirators' attempt to use the opportunity to restore the
Roman Republic was thwarted, as the
same day the Praetorian Guard declared Caligula's uncle and second
cousin once removed
Claudius emperor in his place.

Youth and early
career

As a boy of just two or three, Gaius accompanied his father,Germanicus,
on campaigns in the north ofGermania.The
soldiers were amused that Gaius was dressed in a miniature soldier's
uniform, including boots and armor.He
was soon given his nicknameCaligula,
meaning "little (soldier's) boot" in Latin, after the small boots he
wore as part of his uniform.Gaius,
though, reportedly grew to dislike this nickname.

Suetoniusclaims that
Germanicus was poisoned in Syria by an agent ofTiberius,
who viewed Germanicus as a political rival.

After the death of his father, Caligula lived with his mother until her
relations with Tiberius deteriorated.Tiberius
would not allow Agrippina to remarry for fear her husband would be a
rival.Agrippina
and Caligula's brother,Nero,
were banished in 29 AD on charges of treason.

The adolescent Caligula was then sent to live first with his
great-grandmother (and Tiberius's mother)Livia.Following
Livia's death, he was sent to live with his grandmother Antonia.In
30 AD, his brother,Drusus
Caesar, was imprisoned on charges of treason and his brother Nero
died in exile from either starvation or suicide.Suetonius
writes that after the banishment of his mother and brothers, Caligula
and his sisters were nothing more than prisoners of Tiberius under the
close watch of soldiers.

In 31 AD, Caligula was remanded to the personal care of Tiberius onCapri,
where he lived for six years.To
the surprise of many, Caligula was spared by Tiberius.According
to historians, Caligula was an excellent natural actor and, recognizing
danger, hid all his resentment towards Tiberius.An
observer said of Caligula, "Never was there a better servant or a worse
master!"

After he became Emperor, Caligula claimed to have planned to kill
Tiberius with adaggerin
order to avenge his mother and brother: however, having brought the
weapon into Tiberius's bedroom he did not kill the Emperor but instead
threw the dagger down on the floor. Supposedly Tiberius knew of this but
never dared to do anything about it.Suetonius
claims that Caligula was already cruel and vicious: he writes that, when
Tiberius brought Caligula to Capri, his purpose was to allow Caligula to
live in order that he "...prove the ruin of himself and of all men, and
that he was rearing a viper for the Roman People and aPhaëtonfor
the world."

In 33 AD, Tiberius gave Caligula an honoraryquaestorship,
a position he held until his rise to Emperor.Meanwhile,
both Caligula's mother and his brother Drusus died in prison.Caligula
was briefly married to Junia Claudilla in 33, though she died during
childbirth the following year.Caligula
spent time befriending the Praetorian Prefect,Naevius
Sutorius Macro, an important ally.Macro
spoke well of Caligula to Tiberius, attempting to quell any ill will or
suspicion the emperor felt towards Caligula.

In 35 AD, Caligula was named joint heir to Tiberius's estate along withTiberius
Gemellus.

Emperor

Early reign

When Tiberius died on 16 March 37 AD, his estate and the titles of thePrincipatewere
left to Caligula and Tiberius's own grandson,Gemellus,
who were to serve as joint heirs. Although Tiberius was 77 and on his
death bed, some ancient historians still conjecture that he was
murdered.Tacituswrites
that thePraetorian
Prefect,Macro,
smothered Tiberius with a pillow to hasten Caligula's accession, much to
the joy of the Roman people,whileSuetoniuswrites
that Caligula may have carried out the killing, though this is not
recorded by any other ancient historian.Seneca
the elder andPhilo,
who both wrote during Tiberius's reign, as well asJosephusrecord
Tiberius as dying a natural death.Backed
by Macro, Caligula had Tiberius' will nullified with regards to Gemellus
on grounds of insanity, but otherwise carried out Tiberius' wishes.

Caligula Depositing the Ashes of his Mother and Brother
in the Tomb of his Ancestors, byEustache
Le Sueur, 1647

Caligula accepted the powers of the Principate as conferred by theSenateand
entered Rome on 28 March amid a crowd that hailed him as "our baby" and
"our star," among other nicknames.[Caligula
is described as the first emperor who was admired by everyone in "all
the world, from the rising to the setting sun."Caligula
was loved by many for being the beloved son of the popularGermanicus,and
because he was notTiberius.It
was said by Suetonius that over 160,000 animals were sacrificed during
three months of public rejoicing to usher in the new reign.Philo
describes the first seven months of Caligula's reign as completely
blissful.

Caligula's first acts were said to be generous in spirit, though many
were political in nature.To
gain support, he granted bonuses to those in the military including thePraetorian
Guard, city troops and the army outside Italy.He
destroyed Tiberius's treason papers, declared thattreasontrials
were a thing of the past and recalled those who had been sent into
exile.He
helped those who had been harmed by the Imperialtaxsystem,
banished certain sexual deviants, and put on lavish spectacles for the
public, such as gladiator battles.Caligula
collected and brought back the bones of his mother and of his brothers
and deposited their remains in the tomb of Augustus.

On October 37 A.D., Caligula fell seriously ill. He recovered from his
illness soon thereafter, but many believed that the young emperor had
changed into a diabolical mind as he started to kill off or exile those
who were close to him or whom he saw as a serious threat. Perhaps his
illness reminded him of his mortality and of the desire of others to
advance into his place.He
had his cousin and adopted sonTiberius
Gemellusexecuted – an
act that outraged Caligula's and Gemellus's mutual grandmotherAntonia
Minor. She is said to have committed suicide, although Suetonius
hints that Caligula actually poisoned her. He had his father-in-lawMarcus
Junius Silanusand his
brother-in-lawMarcus
Lepidusexecuted as well.
His uncleClaudiuswas
spared only because Caligula kept him as a laughing stock. His favorite
sisterJulia
Drusilladied in 38 AD of
a fever: his other two sisters,LivillaandAgrippina
the Younger, were exiled. He hated the fact that he was the grandson
ofAgrippa,
and slandered Augustus by repeating a falsehood that his mother was
actually the result of an incestuous relationship between Augustus and
his daughterJulia
the Elder.

Public reform

In AD 38, Caligula focused his attention on political and public reform.
He published the accounts of public funds, which had not been made
public during the reign of Tiberius. He aided those who lost property in
fires, abolished certain taxes, and gave out prizes to the public at
gymnastic events. He allowed new members into the equestrian and
senatorial orders.

Perhaps most significantly, he restored the practice of democratic
elections.Cassius
Diosaid that this act
"though delighting the rabble, grieved the sensible, who stopped to
reflect, that if the offices should fall once more into the hands of the
many ... many disasters would result".

During the same year, though, Caligula was criticized for executing
people without full trials and for forcing his helper Macro to commit
suicide.

Financial
crisis and famine

According toCassius
Dio, a financial crisis emerged in AD 39.Suetoniusplaces
the beginning of this crisis in 38.Caligula's
political payments for support, generosity and extravagance had
exhausted the state's treasury. Ancient historians state that Caligula
began falsely accusing, fining and even killing individuals for the
purpose of seizing their estates.

A number of other desperate measures by Caligula are described by
historians. In order to gain funds, Caligula asked the public to lend
the state money.Caligula
levied taxes on lawsuits, marriage and prostitution.Caligula
began auctioning the lives of the gladiators at shows.Wills
that left items to Tiberius were reinterpreted to leave the items
instead to Caligula.Centurions
who had acquired property during plundering were forced to turn over
spoils to the state.

The current and past highway commissioners were accused of incompetence
and embezzlement and forced to repay money.According
to Suetonius, in the first year of Caligula's reign he squandered
2,700,000,000sestercesthat
Tiberius had amassed.His
nephewNero
Caesarboth envied and
admired the fact that Gaius had run through the vast wealth Tiberius had
left him in so short a time.

TheVatican
Obeliskwas
first brought from Egypt to Rome by Caligula. It was the
centerpiece of a large racetrack he built.

A brief famine of unknown size occurred, perhaps caused by this
financial crisis, but according to Suetonius a result of Caligula's
seizure of public carriages,according
to Seneca because grain imports were disturbed by Caligula's using grain
boats for a pontoon bridge.

Construction

Despite financial difficulties, Caligula embarked on a number of
construction projects during his reign. Some were for the public good,
while others were for himself.

Josephusdescribes as
Caligula's greatest contribution to have improved the harbours atRhegiumandSicily,
thereby allowing grain imports from Egypt to increase.These
improvements may have been made in response to the famine.[citation
needed]

AtSyracuse,
he repaired the city walls and the temples of the gods.He
had new roads built and pushed to keep roads in good condition.He
had planned to rebuild the palace ofPolycratesat
Samos, to finish the temple of Didymaean Apollo atEphesusand
to found a city high up in theAlps.He
planned to dig a canal through the Isthmus in Greece and sent a chief
centurion to survey the work.

The hull of one oftwo
shipsrecovered
fromLake
Nemiduring
the 1930s. This massive vessel served as an elaborate
floating palace to the emperor.

In 39, Caligula performed a spectacular stunt by ordering a temporaryfloating
bridgeto be built using
ships aspontoons,
stretching for over two miles from the resort ofBaiaeto
the neighboring port ofPuteoli.It
was said that the bridge was to rival that of Persian King Xerxes'
crossing of the Hellespont.Caligula,
a man who could not swim,then
proceeded to ride his favorite horse,Incitatus,
across, wearing the breastplate ofAlexander
the Great.This
act was in defiance of a prediction by Tiberius's soothsayerThrasyllus
of Mendesthat Caligula
had "no more chance of becoming emperor than of riding a horse across
the Bay of Baiae".

Caligula hadtwo
large shipsconstructed
for himself, which were recovered from the bottom ofLake
Nemiduring the
dictatorship ofBenito
Mussolini. The ships are among the largest vessels in the ancient
world. The smaller ship was designed as a temple dedicated toDiana.

The larger ship was essentially an elaborate floating palace that
counted marble floors and plumbing among its amenities. Thirteen years
after being raised, the ships were burned during an attack in theSecond
World War, and almost nothing remains of the hulls, though many
archeological treasures remain intact in the museum at Lake Nemi and in
the Museo Nazionale Romano (Palazzo Massimo) at Rome.

Feud with the Senate

In AD 39, relations between Caligula and the Roman Senate deteriorated.The
subject of their disagreement is unknown. A number of factors, though,
aggravated this feud. The Senate had become accustomed to ruling without
an emperor between the departure ofTiberiusfor
Capri in AD 26 and Caligula's accession.Additionally,
Tiberius's treason trials had eliminated a number of pro-Julian senators
such asAsinius
Gallus.

Caligula reviewed Tiberius's records of treason trials and decided that
numerous senators, based on their actions during these trials, were not
trustworthy.He
ordered a new set of investigations and trials.He
replaced the consul and had several senators put to death.Suetoniusreports
that other senators were degraded by being forced to wait on him and run
beside his chariot.

Soon after his break with the Senate, Caligula was met with a number of
additional conspiracies against him.A
conspiracy involvinghis
brother-in-lawwas foiled
in late 39.Soon
afterwards, the governor of Germany,Gnaeus
Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus, was executed for connections to a
conspiracy.

Western expansion

In AD 40, Caligula expanded the Roman Empire intoMauretaniaand
made a significant attempt at expanding intoBritannia–
even challengingNeptunein
his campaign. The conquest of Britannia was fully realized by his
successors.

Mauretania

Mauretania was aclient
kingdomof Rome ruled byPtolemy
of Mauretania. Caligula invited Ptolemy to Rome and then had him
suddenly executed.Mauretania
was annexed by Caligula and subsequently divided into two provinces,Mauritania
TingitanaandMauretania
Caesariensis, separated by the riverMalua.Pliny
claims that division was the work of Caligula, but Dio states that in 42
AD an uprising took place, which was subdued byGaius
Suetonius Paulinusand
Gnaeus Hosidius Geta, only after which the division took place.This
confusion might mean that Caligula originally made the decision to
divide the province, but the implementation was postponed because of the
rebellion.The
first known equestrian governor of the two provinces was one Marcus
Fadius Celer Flavianus, in office in 44 AD.

Details on the Mauretanian events of 39–44 are unclear.Cassius
Diohad written an entire
chapter on the annexation of Mauretania by Caligula, but it is now lost.Caligula's
move seemingly had a strictly personal political motive – that is, fear
and jealousy of his cousin Ptolemy – and thus the expansion was not set
about in response to pressing military or economic needs.However,
the rebellion ofTacfarinashad
shown how exposed Africa Proconsularis was to its west and how the
Mauretanian client kings were unable to provide protection to the
province, and it is thus possible that Caligula's expansion was a
prudent response to potential future threats.

Britannia

There seemed to be a northern campaign to Britannia that was aborted.This
campaign is derided by ancient historians with accounts ofGaulsdressed
up as Germanic tribesmen at his triumph and Roman troops ordered to
collect seashells as "spoils of the sea".The
few primary sources disagree on what precisely occurred. Modern
historians have put forward numerous theories in an attempt to explain
these actions. This trip to theEnglish
Channelcould have merely
been a training and scouting mission.The
mission may have been to accept the surrender of the British chieftainAdminius."Seashells",
orconchaein
Latin, may be a metaphor for something else such as female genitalia
(perhaps the troops visited brothels) or boats (perhaps they captured
several small British boats).

Claims of divinity

Ruins of the temple ofCastor
and Polluxin
theForum
Romanum. Ancient resources as well as recent
archaeological evidence suggest that, at one point, Caligula
had the palace extended to annex this structure.

When several kings came to Rome to pay their respects to him and argued
about their nobility of descent, he cried out "Let there be one Lord,
one King".In
AD 40, Caligula began implementing very controversial policies that
introduced religion into his political role. Caligula began appearing in
public dressed as various gods and demigods such asHercules,Mercury,VenusandApollo.Reportedly,
he began referring to himself as a god when meeting with politicians and
he was referred to as Jupiter on occasion in public documents.

A sacred precinct was set apart for his worship at Miletus in the
province of Asia and two temples were erected for worship of him in
Rome.TheTemple
of Castor and Polluxon
the Forum was linked directly to the Imperial residence on the Palatine
and dedicated to Caligula.He
would appear here on occasion and present himself as a god to the
public. Caligula had the heads removed from various statues of gods and
replaced with his own in various temples.It
is said that he wished to be worshipped asNeos
Helios, the New Sun. Indeed, he was represented as a sun god on
Egyptian coins.

Caligula's religious policy was a departure from that of his
predecessors. According toCassius
Dio, living emperors could be worshipped as divine in the east and
dead Emperors could be worshipped as divine in Rome.Augustushad
the publicworship
his spiriton occasion,
but Dio describes this as an extreme act that emperors generally shied
away from.Caligula
took things a step further and had those in Rome, including Senators,
worship him as a physical living god.

Eastern policy

Caligula needed to quell several riots and conspiracies in the eastern
territories during his reign. Aiding him in his actions was his good
friend,Herod
Agrippa, who became governor of the territories of Batanaea and
Trachonitis after Caligula became emperor in AD 37.

The cause of tensions in the east was complicated, involving the spread
of Greek culture, Roman law and the rights of Jews.

Caligula did not trust the prefect of Egypt, Aulus Avilius Flaccus.
Flaccus had been loyal to Tiberius, had conspired against Caligula's
mother and had connections with Egyptian separatists.In
AD 38, Caligula sent Agrippa to Alexandria unannounced to check on
Flaccus.According
to Philo, the visit was met with jeers from the Greek population who saw
Agrippa as the king of the Jews.Flaccus
tried to placate both the Greek population and Caligula by having
statues of the emperor placed in Jewishsynagogues.As
a result, riots broke out in the city.Caligula
responded by removing Flaccus from his position and executing him.

In AD 39, Agrippa accusedHerod
Antipas, thetetrarchofGalileeandPerea,
of planning a rebellion against Roman rule with the help ofParthia.
Herod Antipas confessed and Caligula exiled him. Agrippa was rewarded
with his territories.

Riots again erupted in Alexandria in AD 40 between Jews and Greeks.Jews
were accused of not honoring the emperor.Disputes
occurred in the city of Jamnia.Jews
were angered by the erection of a clay altar and destroyed it.In
response, Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the
JewishTemple
of Jerusalem,a
demand in conflict with Jewish monotheism.In
this context,Philowrote
that Caligula "regarded the Jews with most especial suspicion, as if
they were the only persons who cherished wishes opposed to his".

Thegovernorof
Syria, Publius Petronius, fearing civil war if the order were carried
out, delayed implementing it for nearly a year.Agrippa
finally convinced Caligula to reverse the order.

Romansestertiusdepicting
Caligula,c.AD
38. The reverse shows Caligula's three sisters, Agrippina,
Drusilla and Julia Livilla, with whom Caligula was rumoured
to have carried on incestuous relationships.

Scandals

Cameo depicting Caligula and a personification of Rome

Surviving sources present a number of stories about Caligula that
illustrate cruelty and insanity.

The contemporary sources,Philo
of AlexandriaandSeneca
the Younger, describe an insane emperor who was self-absorbed,
angry, killed on a whim, and who indulged in too much spending and sex.He
is accused of sleeping with other men's wives and bragging about it,killing
for mere amusement,deliberately
wasting money on his bridge, causing starvation,and
wanting a statue of himself erected in theTemple
of Jerusalemfor his
worship.Once,
at some games at which he was presiding, he ordered his guards to throw
an entire section of the crowd into the arena during intermission to be
eaten by animals because there were no criminals to be prosecuted and he
was bored.

While repeating the earlier stories, the later sources ofSuetoniusandCassius
Dioprovide additional
tales of insanity. They accuse Caligula ofincestwith
his sisters,Agrippina
the Younger,Drusilla,
andLivilla,
and say he prostituted them to other men.They
state he sent troops on illogical military exercises,turned
the palace into a brothel,and,
most famously, planned or promised to make his horse,Incitatus,
a consul,and
actually appointed him a priest.

The validity of these accounts is debatable. In Roman political culture,
insanity and sexual perversity were often presented hand-in-hand with
poor government.

Assassination
and aftermath

Caligula's actions as emperor were described as being especially harsh
to the Senate, the nobility and the equestrian order.[105]According
to Josephus, these actions led to several failedconspiraciesagainst
Caligula.Eventually,
a successful murder was planned by officers within thePraetorian
Guardled byCassius
Chaerea.The
plot is described as having been planned by three men, but many in the
Senate, army and equestrian order were said to have been informed of it
and involved in it.[108]

According to Josephus, Chaerea had political motivations for the
assassination.Suetonius
sees the motive in Caligula calling Chaerea derogatory names.Caligula
considered Chaerea effeminate because of a weak voice and for not being
firm with tax collection.Caligula
would mock Chaerea with names like "Priapus"
and "Venus".

On 24 January 41, Chaerea and other guardsmen accosted Caligula while he
was addressing an acting troupe of young men during a series of games
and dramatics held for the Divine Augustus.Details
on the events vary somewhat from source to source, but they agree that
Chaerea was first to stab Caligula, followed by a number of
conspirators.Suetonius
records that Caligula's death was similar to that ofJulius
Caesar. He states that both the elder Gaius Julius Caesar (Julius
Caesar) and the younger Gaius Julius Caesar (Caligula) were stabbed 30
times by conspirators led by a man named Cassius (Cassius
Longinusand Cassius
Chaerea).

Thecryptoporticus(underground
corridor) where this event would have taken place was discovered beneath
the imperial palaces on the Palatine Hill.By
the time Caligula's loyal Germanic guard responded, the emperor was
already dead. The Germanic guard, stricken with grief and rage,
responded with a rampaging attack on the assassins, conspirators,
innocent senators and bystanders alike.

The Senate attempted to use Caligula's death as an opportunity to
restore the Republic.Chaerea
attempted to convince the military to support the Senate.The
military, though, remained loyal to the office of the emperor.The
grieving Roman people assembled and demanded that Caligula's murderers
be brought to justice.[Uncomfortable
with lingering imperial support, the assassins sought out and stabbed
Caligula's wife,Caesonia,
and killed their young daughter,Julia
Drusilla, by smashing her head against a wall.They
were unable to reach Caligula's uncle,Claudius,
who was spirited out of the city, after being found by a soldier,to
the nearby Praetorian camp.

Claudius became emperor after procuring the support of the Praetorian
guard and ordered the execution of Chaerea and any other known
conspirators involved in the death of Caligula.According
to Suetonius, Caligula's body was placed under turf until it was burned
and entombed by his sisters. He was buried within theMausoleum
of Augustus; in 410 during theSack
of Romethe tomb's ashes
were scattered.

Legacy

Historiography

Fanciful renaissance depiction of Caligula

The history of Caligula's reign is extremely problematic as only two
sources contemporary with Caligula have survived — the works ofPhiloandSeneca.
Philo's works,On the
Embassy to GaiusandFlaccus,
give some details on Caligula's early reign, but mostly focus on events
surrounding the Jewish population in Judea and Egypt with whom he
sympathizes. Seneca's various works give mostly scattered anecdotes on
Caligula's personality. Seneca was almost put to death by Caligula in AD
39 likely due to his associations with conspirators.

At one time, there were detailed contemporaneous histories on Caligula,
but they are now lost. Additionally, the historians who wrote them are
described as biased, either overly critical or praising of Caligula.Nonetheless,
these lost primary sources, along with the works of Seneca and Philo,
were the basis of surviving secondary and tertiary histories on Caligula
written by the next generations of historians. A few of the
contemporaneous historians are known by name.Fabius
RusticusandCluvius
Rufusboth wrote
condemning histories on Caligula that are now lost. Fabius Rusticus was
a friend of Seneca who was known for historical embellishment and
misrepresentation.Cluvius
Rufus was a senator involved in the assassination of Caligula.

Caligula's sister,Agrippina
the Younger, wrote an autobiography that certainly included a
detailed explanation of Caligula's reign, but it too is lost. Agrippina
was banished by Caligula for her connection toMarcus
Lepidus, who conspired against Caligula.The
inheritance ofNero,
Agrippina's son and the future emperor, was seized by Caligula.Gaetulicus,
a poet, produced a number of flattering writings about Caligula, but
they too are lost.

The bulk of what is known of Caligula comes fromSuetoniusandCassius
Dio. Suetonius wrote his history on Caligula 80 years after his
death, while Cassius Dio wrote his history over 180 years after
Caligula's death. Cassius Dio's work is invaluable because it alone
gives a loose chronology of Caligula's reign.

A handful of other sources add a limited perspective on Caligula.Josephusgives
a detailed description of Caligula's assassination.Tacitusprovides
some information on Caligula's life underTiberius.
In a now lost portion of hisAnnals,
Tacitus gave a detailed history of Caligula.Pliny
the Elder'sNatural
Historyhas a few brief
references to Caligula.

There are few surviving sources on Caligula and no surviving source
paints Caligula in a favorable light. The paucity of sources has
resulted in significant gaps in the reign of Caligula. Little is written
on the first two years of Caligula's reign. Additionally, there are only
limited details on later significant events, such as the annexation ofMauretania,
Caligula's military actions inBritannia,
and his feud with theRoman
Senate.

Health

All surviving sources, exceptPliny
the Elder, characterize Caligula as insane. However, it is not known
whether they are speaking figuratively or literally. Additionally, given
Caligula's unpopularity among the surviving sources, it is difficult to
separate fact from fiction. Recent sources are divided in attempting to
ascribe a medical reason for his behavior, citing as possibilitiesencephalitis,epilepsyormeningitis.
The question of whether or not Caligula was insane remains unanswered.

Philo of Alexandria,JosephusandSenecastate
that Caligula was insane, but describe this madness as a personality
trait that came through experience.Seneca
states that Caligula became arrogant, angry and insulting once becoming
emperor and uses his personality flaws as examples his readers can learn
from.According
to Josephus, power made Caligula incredibly conceited and led him to
think he was a god.Philo
of Alexandriareports
that Caligula became ruthless after nearly dying of an illness in the
eighth month of his reign in AD 37.Juvenalreports
he was given a magic potion that drove him insane.

Suetoniussaid that
Caligula suffered from "falling sickness", orepilepsy,
when he was young.Modern
historians have theorized that Caligula lived with a daily fear of
seizures.Despite
swimming being a part of imperial education, Caligula could not swim.Epileptics
are encouraged not to swim in open waters because unexpected fits in
such difficult rescue circumstances can be fatal.Additionally,
Caligula reportedly talked to the full moon.Epilepsy
was long associated with the moon.

Some modern historians think that Caligula suffered fromhyperthyroidism.This
diagnosis is mainly attributed to Caligula's irritability and his
"stare" as described by Pliny the Elder.

Possible rediscovery of burial site

On 17 January 2011, police inNemi,
Italy, announced that they believed they had discovered the site of
Caligula's burial, after arresting a thief caught smuggling a statue
which they believed to be of the emperor.The
claim has been met with scepticism byCambridgehistorianMary
Beard.